Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is "ecstatic" over their first-half of the season.
"I am ecstatic - 38 points on the board from 20 games is fantastic going from the team," said O'Neill, who now prepares his players to face Gillingham in the FA Cup this weekend.
"The players are delighted with themselves. They accept with every game the problems they have had to cope with and so far they have been up to the task."